Now, more than ever, it is critical for key role-players and government departments to engage on issues that affect the growth and development of the industry.
This was the message from the immediate past president of the Master Builders South Africa (MBSA), Danie Hattingh, at the opening of organisation's recently held annual congress.
Mike Schüssler, an economist at Economists.co.za, echoed Hattingh's statements by saying that building activity is making a comeback but from a low base. "Construction plans have been positive for about ten months, after five years in the doldrums. Residential and shopping centre building are now bouncing back. Banks are also lending more for motor vehicles than for homes, which is unusual but this has been going on for four to five years. Loans for homes are likely to be a better bet for the banks than car loans in the next five years. As a result we are unlikely to see the previous highs in residential building for another five or even ten years."
On the topic of transformation, Construction Sector Charter Council (CSCC) chairperson, Felix Fuzile Fongoqa, stated that there are gaps in the transformation of the industry that can so easily hinder its goals. According to Fongoqa, reliable data and information are necessary for determining the progress of transformation, identifying barriers and forming strategies to resolve these. "We want to make a strong appeal to all MBSA member organisations to implement meaningful transformation as this is one of South Africa's key pillars for sustainable growth."
In a similar vein, Dr Bridgette Gasa of the National Planning Commission, stated that sectors, like those represented at Congress, are important players in dealing decisively with poverty and inequality. "The infrastructure plan has its roots in the National Development Plan and members of the construction industry are the key enablers for achieving it. We need the engagement and active participation of this sector.
"The National Planning Commission believes that it is feasible to create 11 million jobs by 2030, with the majority coming from the agriculture, mining and construction sectors. Government has stated that if we are going to be pumping the kind of investment that we are into the construction industry, the sector needs to give something back in relation to skills development and job creation." The government has significantly increased infrastructure investment over the past year, with close to R1 trillion being spent - almost double the rate of investment in the previous five years.
Insufficient planning for government's infrastructure investment was identified as one of the problems impeding skills development and employment in the sector by Construction Sector Education and Training Authority (CETA) chairperson, Dr Sihle Moon, in his presentation on artisan and skills training. Other challenges included the sector's lack of popularity amongst young people, the myth that university education is somehow superior to vocation practical skills and the deficiency of engagement between business, government and the SETAs to identify the skills required both at present and in the future.
"The biggest problem in our country is the incongruence between the availability of skills and our growth and development ambitions. According to Statistics South Africa, the construction sector contributes very little to employment, with only one million people employed. There are three million unemployed young people in the country and this number is growing because the economy is not creating sufficient jobs. Unless we tackle this issue head on, it will create a huge social-economic problem," Moon said.
The congress was officially closed with an Annual General Meeting during which the new president, Collin Cozens and his vice, Neil Cloete, were installed as office bearers for the ensuing year.
